The results will help the DOE decide which calendar to recommend to the board.

Adopting a unified calendar by the 2006-07 school year is part of the Reinventing Education Act passed by the state Legislature earlier this year.

Not only will a single calendar ease the stress on families who might have children in schools on different calendars, but according to Robert Campbell, director of program support and development for the DOE, "It will help make things more efficient in the sense that costs can be better controlled and it's easier to coordinate training and program development and implementation."

For example, because schools are on various schedules, the DOE has to give school bus companies a more flexible — and more expensive — contract. "Every dollar that we spend moving people around for training or just transporting kids is a dollar that can't be spent directly in a school," Campbell said.

The survey, which will be filled out by all parents and staff, as well as students in Grades 4 to 12, will be one factor in the department's process for developing a recommendation. "We want to be able to provide the board with as much information as possible for them to use when they finally adopt a single calendar," Campbell said.

The deadline to complete the survey is Dec. 15.

The survey will be considered along with various calendars' impacts on student learning, union requirements, professional development for teachers and even the business community, Campbell said.

The survey offers four year-round schedules with a shorter summer vacation and varying breaks in the fall, winter and spring. A final option gives 10 weeks for summer, two weeks in winter and one week in spring.

With more than 60 percent of the 285 public schools already on modified year-round schedules, "I would guess we would take one of the modified calendars now," said Stanley Tamashiro, principal at 'Ewa Elementary.

Tamashiro prefers having a six-week summer break, with two weeks off in both the fall and spring and three weeks off in the winter. "In that additional three to four weeks (in the traditional calendar's summer vacation), kids are probably playing more than doing educational activities," he said. "The shorter breaks help with retention."

Taking a break between quarters can be beneficial as well, Tamashiro said. "It is good for students to take a break from activities and get a little respite, and it's a break for the staff, too," he said.

Tamashiro expects the big contest to be whether to have six weeks or seven weeks off in the summer. He said many secondary schools lean toward a seven-week summer because it allows summer school teachers and students time for vacation.

While seven of the eight schools in the 'Ewa area are split between two year-round schedules and the other, Holomua Elementary, is on a multitrack calendar, Tamashiro said he hasn't had many complaints about the calendar from parents lately.

"I think they've kind of learned to accept it and make adjustments, but I think they will welcome a common calendar," he said.

Dolan Waikiki, who has twin kindergartners at Kuhio Elementary, would prefer the traditional calendar from his own school days. "For me, it's all right with the three-month break," he said.

But he doesn't have strong opposition to moving to a year-round calendar. His wife is a stay-at-home mom, so childcare is not an issue for his family. "To me, as long as the students learn and comprehend what they're being taught, whatever calendar they use is fine," he said.

Unlike the Waikikis, many families need to find alternative childcare during the various vacation and intercession breaks throughout the school year — a headache that only gets worse if their children have different start, end and vacation dates.

Students have their own opinions about the calendars.

Felicia Torres, a sophomore at Hilo High School, prefers having a long summer break. "I think three months in the summer would be better," she said.

She is looking for a part-time job during the school year, but wants to work full-time in the summer. Shorter summer vacations would limit her earning potential. "I'm trying to earn money for a car," she said.